<p>Just looking for a little information. I've read a little about the school and am left with the impression that kids who are a bit on the quirky side might not be a good fit. Carleton seems to be a more natural destination but I don't think my D will have the grades to get in. She's a late bloomer who struggled early on but has started to apply herself, going from a 2.9 to a 3.6 this semester.
In any event, she's really a good kid, but a tad on the cynical side and not overly religious. How would she fit into St. Olaf?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Calmac Our D has been accepted at St Olaf and is waiting to hear from Carleton. She has visited twice (last May with me and Feb with her Mom). She sat in classes, talked with Professors, overnighted both times with different students, etc.</p>
<p>Our impressions were a really nice campus, neat small town, friendly students and interested faculty. Our D impressions were very favorable, the students were open, friendly, show interest in her as a person and overall left a most positive impression. Her meetings with Professors were positive, she thought the (2nd overnight) dorm rooms were smallish, but the students seemed ok with it and did not complain about the size. Our D is planning to study Creative Writing and Japanese language (both subjects available at either St Olaf or Carleton). We are from New Jersey - so the Norwegian/Lutheran flavor of St Olaf was of interest to us. We are not religious minded and our D was concerned but found that religion was not mandated, there are two classes (from a very broad selection) from the religion concenration that all students must take, but these include survey, historial, social and other themes, very far from an indoctrination class. They have a 20 minute break in the late am (before lunch) where a voluntary Chapel event is held. </p>
<p>Overall, with 3000 students, St Olaf seemed to be a place where an individual could be just that an individual. True many Lutherans (about 50%) attend and many Norwegian ancestry students from the Mid-west attend. I think that is part of the attraction for our D as she is not Lutheran, not Norwegian, not from the Midwest, so by herself she opens some doors.</p>
<p>Carleton is equally attractive to our D for many of the same reasons, our D seemed to feel that the students at Carleton were just a bit sharper (in the classroom dialogues), but that both schools were welcoming and friendly.</p>
<p>St Olaf was very good on the Financial Aid, at present of four schools, St Olaf's Aid offer was most generous.</p>
<p>meganvirg: That's amazing because Creative Writing and Japanese are the exact same subjects that my D is interested in. She went to Japan to live with a host family and go to school last summer. She'll leave high school with 4 years of japanese and is current tutoring beginning Japanese students. I only wish her grade-point represented her abilities in other areas a little more. She finally gets it now but because she started her Junior year with a 2.7, its going to be tough for her to get into the right kind of school. With her grades now on the upswing, her ECs (thearter, varsity basketball, newspaper, etc) and her devotion to Japanese; I'm hoping that a school like St. Olaf (or perhaps Carleton in a stretch) might be the right fit.</p>
<p>I am a high school senior who applied to St. Olaf.</p>
<p>I visited the school in the fall, and I did not find the students were quirky. I live on the University of Chicago campus, though, so that may be why. Everyone I met (and my host) was very friendly and helpful, and students smiled and were happy to help me when I was trying to navigate through the campus. The students generally come from Minnesota and towns in the Midwest, so those are the kind of people you find there. </p>
<p>I don't think that the campus as a whole is overly religious, though, when I visited, many attended the voluntary chapel service. I think that shows a lot about the students-- they are good, caring kids.</p>
<p>I was initially attracted to St. Olaf because of their Classics department, which happens to be quite strong. With two years of college Greek (ancient) under my belt as I enter my freshman year, I knew I needed a school that offered Advanced Greek. Their math department is also nationally-known; I am now torn between Classics and Math, and St. Olaf ended up being one of three schools to which I applied. Your daughter might like to check out St. Olaf's Classics and Math departments if she has even an inkling of interest. </p>
<p>Although I will be attending the Univeristy of Chicago next year (my first choice), St. Olaf really stood out for me. But it is crucial for your daughter to visit the colleges she is considering. Schools are very different, and she needs to find the one where she will be most comfortable and will grow intellectually. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Most of my time on CC has been over on the Musical Theatre site - our D is a senior and is anxiously awaiting the remainder of her decisions from schools she has auditioned for in the past few months.
I just ran across this site for St. Olaf and thought I'd tell you about some of our experience with the school.
Our S is a junior this year - majoring in Economics and Finance. When he was a senior is HS he went to Northfield to visit Carlton. He had no intention of even looking at St. Olaf...of course his dad said they might as well as long as they were there. He really liked it - ended up that he even went back for a second visit and at that point knew that's where he wanted to attend. He of course was accepted - and was waitlisted to Carlton.
Northfield is a very rural community - and I have heard that students have a good relationship with the residents. The downtown is pretty small but quaint. With a number of small shops and restaurants. The campus does offer shuttle buses that will take students to various places in town...Target etc.<br>
Carlton and St. Olaf do quite a few events together - sponsoring concerts etc. They even offer some classes on each others' campuses.
Food on campus is great. As some of you mentioned already - chapel is optional. St. Olaf has a great music dept. and our S is able to sing in one of their wonderful choirs - even though he is not a music major. (Although I'll add - it is not for credit - and takes up a lot of time. But he says it's worth it to have that outlet.)
There are many student organizations - and some are quite political. But S says he feels in general that opinions are respected even though debates can get a little heated. : )
He has mentioned that most of his professors are VERY approachable. Even giving out their home numbers to students. At Thanksgiving (they don't shut down the campus for that holiday) students who can't go home for break have even been invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the homes of professors and college employees.<br>
I know I've been rambling...sorry. But if you have any specific questions I'll do my best to answer them.</p>
<p>minnesotaMTmom: Thanks for your post. I am a Moorhead /Concordia grad who ended up out near Seattle. My daughter longs for the homeland and is very interested in St. Olaf. I am interested in how your son is finding the Economics/Finance program as that is my daughter's primary interest heading to college. What has his experience been? Has he done any internships or gone on a study abroad program with his major? I am wondering what the difference might be from a college that has a business degree. Any insights are appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi again -
I was able to get a little bit of info. out of our S before he left for his Spring Break trip...
He has found the program challenging and the professors competent and for the most part pretty interesting. He has yet to have a class from one he didn't like. He also commented that they are kind and seem genuinely interested in you not only as a student but as a person.
He recently got back from an Econ ("J" term) trip to China. (Economic Progress of China) It was a lot of fun - interesting topic - but it was geared more as a cultural trip than any real business study. He believes that the Econ trip to England is much more Econ intensive.
He doesn't have any idea what the difference might be from a college that has a business degree - he has decided that accounting is definately NOT what he wants to do for the rest of his life. Right now he is considering continuing on with his education after graduation and possibly going for some sort of law degree. But who knows...that may change after Spring Break!
I hope this helps. Please let me know if I can ask him any other questions for you. I can't decide which is worse...to be known as a "Cobber" or an "Ole!" : )
Best of luck as your D continues her college search.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! We just got our daughter's scholarship /financial aid packages this week. Wow - talk about a major lesson for our daughter to learn the hard way! She new St. Olaf was tough and we have definitely experienced the "Apply if you want, but we won't go out of our way to make you feel welcome" attitude that kept me from attending St. Olaf back in my day.<br>
However, I figure its like dating. For some kids - the more the guy plays hard to get - the more the girl wants him. Apparently our daughter favors those that are hard to get. </p>
<p>Anyway, after working very hard to get the grades to open doors, she fell in love with St. Olaf on a visit her Jr. year. With so many freshman with high stats, our daughter put her all into applying to St. Olaf. Great recommendations, worked very hard on her many essays. She was rewarded nicely with the Regents and Service scholarships.<br>
Concordia on the other hand, which has made her feel welcome and wanted at every step, giving her the its a "slam dunk" feel at every juncture, did not give her one of their presidential scholarships. Why? - her essay. She bombed it because she didn't think it was important. I liken it to the story of the tortoise and the hare. At St. Olaf she was the tortoise who won. At Concordia - the hare who lost. A good lesson - but a bummer. In terms of actual dollars it puts the two colleges in a dead tie. Our dilemma - we keep hearing St.Olaf has aloof, entitled kids while Concordia - is just plain all about being "nice." We now have a moratorium on speaking about college at our house while "she" decides. We are all worn out. So I am thankful for college confidential.</p>
<p>We're nearly at the same point in our household..."she" will be deciding once her remaining 3 letters arrive - and after a trip out east to at least (as of today) 2 schools that she has never visited. It's funny how we parents just know when it's time to stop advising and let them come to their own conclusions. She'll make the trip with her dad - not only to save some money but also to have some quality time with him - without me adding my 2 cents about each school. (I've been known to do that once in a while.) HA! I know that she will be happiest with the knowledge that the choice was completely hers to make.<br>
A number of our friends have "nice" kids attending Concordia (as well as some classmates of our own kids) but I can certainly vouch that there are plenty of nice kids at St. Olaf as well. : ) Our S got some scholarship money - has some help from us - but will end up with a boatload of student loans. Certainly not one of the elite - Poor kid! But he has found a wonderful second home there and no matter where your D chooses to go - you can be certain that there will be many friends to be made. : )</p>
<p>OMNI: Well to an observer of your posts, I must say your feelings towards St Olaf seem to stem from your prior contact. Your D loved the school, probably because whe found as our D did (on her two visits to St Olaf) that the kids were very friendly and well 'nice'.</p>
<p>We found the Admissions personnel to be very open and interested and our D has met a number of faculty and attended six different classes on her two visits and was welcomed and given both time and attention to her inquiries. </p>
<p>The Financial aid package was competitive and overall after 7 acceptances, our D is looking at St Olaf and one other school and will be visiting both in April to make her final assessment.</p>
<p>We had no prior contact with St Olaf, did not know any alumni, are not Lutheran nor Norwegian, but our D located the school based on her search of the internet and so far they had been friendly and helpful.</p>
<p>Hopefully both your D and ours will find the school that will benefit and assist them grow. If the decision were ours, we would recommend St Olaf, but it is our D who will make the selection, we trust her judgment.</p>
<p>My mother attended the university I will be attending (The University of Chicago) in the fall, and she did impose her opinions of the school very strongly upon me. She was there in the 1970's, a time when the core haden't been watered down (though the core is still strong) and students literally lived at the library. She, needless to say, did not enjoy it, and she has told me so time and again. She says that they were the most miserable four years of her life, and business school was a cakewalk compared to her undergrad years.</p>
<p>I, on the other hand, know what I am getting into. I have many friends at the school, and I study almost constantly-and love it. I took what is considered one of the most intensive courses at the university over the summer, received an 'A', and am auditing the next level of that course this year. The school seems a "good fit" for me, though it wasn't such for my mother, whose own mother decided she wanted her daughter to attend that school.</p>
<p>It is important to let your children decied on the school they will attend, though you may steer them in the direction you think best. My mom had bad experiences in college, but things have changed, and I am sure I will love college just as much as she hated it!</p>
<p>I know I have been talking about another school on the St. Olaf College thread, but I wanted to tell you my experiences. I did apply to St. Olaf as one of only three colleges, and I very well might have gone if I had not been accepted to the U. of C. </p>
<p>My two cents. Sorry to have blabbed on for so long, but I needed a break from studying.</p>
<p>The climate and setting of Northfield is far superior to that of Moorhead, Minnesota, where Concordia is located. St. Olaf is a nationally recognized liberal arts college; Concordia isn't. There are tons of nice kids at St. Olaf. I would recommend your son go to the better school.</p>
<p>Bumping up...</p>